COLUMBIA, MO • He plays football like a derailed locomotive, but in a recent practice, he was more like a loose caboose.
He enters 2018 as a preseason All-SEC second-teamer, following a 2017 with 38 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
Mizzou’s football team is sort of like the Cardinals’ most-recent opponent, the Colorado Rockies. Every year, the offense is going to be good, putting up video-game numbers. But the seasons the team will fare well is when the defense (and pitching) ascends. Happened last year for both bowl-bound Mizzou and playoff-bound Colorado.